Abe Sapien #11 Review

Is this former member of the B.P.R.D. still compelling in his own solo title? Read on to find out.

The official description from Dark Horse:

As a zombie swarm threatens a small Arizona town, a mad necromancer rises over the monster-infested ruins of Seattle.

What we have here is an issue that concludes the arc, “To The Last Man” but it also acts as an interlude for what comes next. As our protagonist comes to the conclusion that he must continue his journey things in this tiny city get complicated real fast. And thanks to the efforts of this creative team we have three story lines that are wholly entertaining.

Mike Mignola and Scott Allie continue to work together crafting jaunts that exist on a whole other level than the standard comic at your local shop. We get a complex but understandable narrative that balances all the varying pieces while keeping a strong focus on Abe Sapien. The excellent character follows his instincts even to the point where he thinks he might have made a wrong turn, but between these two authors we get to see an honest humanity in his actions that’s refreshing. My one complaint is that this release is billed as the ending of an arc but there’s too much left in progress for a clean brake. Even so I can’t wait to see what happens next.

I have to say the chief actor that makes this entire series stand out is the visual component. Comic books by their nature are a highly stylized medium that demand originality and artistic integrity, which is exactly what we get from the quirky designs done by Max Fiumara. His humans could use some further work but the depictions of our more monsterous players are without equal. Add in the colors done by Dave Stewart and your bound to get people to buy this for the illustrations alone.

Abe Sapien #11 will entertain and I imagine it’ll cause some pain for devoted followers, who will no doubt close this entry and realize they have to wait a month for the next round. Recommended.